Innocent starters
by J-crusader
Summary: Seven years have passed after leaving Fuuka, and what can it be for the better of two innocent starters after reuniting? Take a look into the easy life of Shizuru and Natsuki to see how things have flown from the previous winter to the present. ShizNat
1. Winter to early Spring

**A/N: **I am thrilled to say that I haven't done drabbles for so long that I actaully had fun when I was wrting this. I would not delay, and as usual as to not cause any confusion, the breaks are used to seperate each short daily peek into their lives, it can be continuous or not. It is up to one to be see. Hence, until the end, I will not hinder.

Then again,

Cheers!

* * *

Let's start this off with a short sweet prologue, shall we?

When the years gradually pass and the blossoms are long past there beautiful prime, time still ticks on. The scenery changes in the four seasons, from the serene spring to the scorching summer, to the auspicious autumn to the withering winter and then it starts over again. Time changes from morning to night, the people change from dusk to dawn. The surrounding changes, the environment changes, Fuuka changed from the olden capital to Kyoto, then to the modern of Tokyo. The individuals leave across the sea from Fuuka and after seven years, problems were slowly solved, challenges were faced, obstacles were overcome. Two sides of the coin were polished, to leave nothing to hide behind a façade. Back again together with the ticking time, a new year awaits these two particular innocent starters; this time with a four leaved clover.

In hand.

* * *

'I'm parched'

'Indeed so.'

Her emerald green eyes closed at the comment and heaved a breath of annoyance. The chilly atmosphere of the seasonal winter brought her limbs to certain stiffness and she dreaded it. The leather riding suit was now exchanged with a new thick leather jacket that hugged her shoulders, and she had new long legged pants that she ended charmingly with matching boots. To top it off she had a set of sleeks gloves too. She blew another breath into the cold, dry air. The breeze that came along had the wisp of the fragrance of flowers mixed with tea and the certain nostalgic smell of Kyoto…

Or what she was reminded of Kyoto.

Reaching out to her right, she fumbled slightly but most expertly grabbed onto the other gloved pair of hands near her. She held her grip tight and in exchange felt the fingers entwine with her own. She felt happy. Indeed, she did.

Taking the hand, she quietly slipped both their hands into her jacket pocket. Her ears caught onto a small chuckle and she scoffed it away as she turned away to pull both of them towards the brightly lit streets of metropolitan Tokyo. The festive lights were on. Sparkling in the dazzling lights were the windows of the towering skyscrapers. Hanging from the shopping parades and malls were yellow-golden lights that flickered on and off in timed intervals. It was spectacular to see the Isetan lit up in a myriad of colours and Takashimaya dazzle away in exoticness. Holy enough to say, that one was able to see little angel figurines hanging on doors, accompanied by frosted decorations upon windows and floor mats stating greetings of Welcome and Merry Christmas.

She really hoped it snowed this winter. The last it snowed was…

Oh, she wasn't even born yet. Ah, Tokyo. How bright could it get with colours that excluded the colour white? How ironic this winter was.

'Ara? And where might we be going now?'

The Kyoto accent she heard on her right had the essence of tease and tempt but too the richness of tenderness and care. Emerald eyes swivelled from the bright scenes in front of them and rigidly she said in the middle of a warm breath. The condensation floated past her,

'Lawsons.'

The air of silence ensued and the question to her answer didn't come. She needn't it to come; she already knew the question probing within the person she was holding.

'A drink would be nice wouldn't it? Shizuru?'

The hustle and bustle carried on around them and the joy of the festive season grew even livelier. However within the two, the silence prolonged. The grip around her hand tightened and emerald eyes closed once more to revel in the warm feeling of being held. She passed a lopsided grin when she heard the following,

'Could you get green tea for me?'

* * *

'360 yen?'

'I should have brought coffee instead of soda.'

The clatter of the empty can went down noisily with the moving crowd and she turned to look at the crimson that watched the lights that was all around them. The warm bottle of green tea was held within her grasp and Natsuki watched at gloved hands twisted the cap open. Her partner took a sip and expectedly she heard her name being called,

'Natsuki?'

Emerald eyes looked up and she noticed the question in those red pools. She shook her head and in the process caught onto the sight of a particular building that reminded her of something. Walking up to her counter part, Natsuki blurted,

'Just to think about it. There's a 20% discount of Kinokuniya', she cocked her head to the direction of the building, 'There's that book you wanted to buy; their not closed yet so why…'

'Why not we just head home?'

An arm immediately hooked around hers and she looked up at the night sky of metropolitan Japan. She smiled and took a step forward,

'Why not.'

* * *

'Ducati. Ducati. Ducati.'

Her companion leaned onto her shoulder and she droned on.

'Ducati. Ducati. Ducati.'

The man beside Natsuki with neat cropped hair, fringe pulled to the side, stared awkwardly at her. His one crisp business suit was now grey and dull, his eyes showed tiredness and his arms holding onto his suitcase just wanted to let go. She eyed the man and managed out a small apology for disturbing the serene atmosphere of the train station.

What bullshit.

The train station platform for the local JR line at Shinjuku station was packed with people. Noise induced indeed. From old ladies and old men to the gothic high school teens to little kids with their parent. Not to forget the office men and women, and so much more. All of them stood behind the line for the next scheduled train to arrive. Oh the crowd was unbearable on the platform. Oh hell, to even think about what it will be like in the train. That was why Natsuki was fussing about; she should have ridden her Ducati into town. She would and could but she couldn't and wouldn't. She rather take the train, or even better, pay quite a sum to take the taxi to prevent her companion's dress for riding up those well-toned legs on a Ducati.

Furthermore, she preferred to have a slow walk with her partner to gaze at the Christmas lights than to just see the a blur of blinding lights while speeding down Shinjuku…which was quite impossible due to the heavy traffic on a working day. Her emerald eyes would be on the road anyway and she wouldn't be able to even hear the sweet voice of Shizuru that would mark a remark or two on the décor. The engine of the Ducati was already very loud, and with the other cars all around on the road, she didn't think of any possibility of hearing her partner's voice.

Well, at least now she had all possibilities to hear the enticing voice. However the train wait was longer than the usual, which was odd. The scheduled time for the next train was in 5 minutes. Oh the wait, watch the crowd gather. Natsuki droned on with her Ducati chant…seemingly the only thing that took her mind of the growing crowd. Yet, a soft knock from her partner stopped her and emerald eyes looked into deep crimson. She growled,

'What?'

'Stop murmuring.'

She gave out a sigh, followed by the grinding of her teeth. The warmth beside her moved momentarily away and then back again. The train was coming…soon. When she was with Shizuru…time just seemed to be longer than usual. Now there were always the pros and the cons.

* * *

The neon lights of the bill boards and the glowing reflection of the Christmas lights off the buildings sped past in a constant speed. The soft hum of the train could be heard, but above all, the chatter in the packed train topped it all. Natsuki was lucky and unlucky in a way. Unlucky for her and Shizuru, they was pushed close to the opposite door and pressed inelegantly against the cold glass of the train carriage. While on the other hand, she was lucky to get such a good position to nuzzle with her brown-haired companion. Being as protective as ever, Natsuki stood wither back to the crowd that pushed against her. Her solid back fending off any weary hands that may wander to near to her beauty. She, after all, was the pride of the pack. No one lays a finger on her mate.

Now that was final.

Natsuki hands were wrapped securely around the former's waist and her head nuzzled comfortably onto the crook of the inviting neck that stood before her. Shizuru's hands were already playing with the zip of her jacket and a soft breath once in a while blown into her ear. She shivered slightly at that. Natsuki had finally accustomed to display her affections to her beloved in public. It wasn't up to a nice decent start, but by the looks of what she was doing now, she didn't mind what other people saw or thought. They were in the modern society, which was what she told herself. What was there to be afraid? Tokyo was no longer the Fuuka she thought. The carnival of their dying dances was long over.

Now it was for her to see them shine.

Shifting her head slowly, emerald eyes peeked out of the thick glass of the train window and her eyes caught onto something afar. A building of some sort. Nothing too fantastic, but something that brought about something to reminisce. In that moment, in times like these, her partner always knew what she was looking at, or something about, even when those crimson eyes weren't even looking.

'How's Tokiha-han fairing?'

Oh, she knew it was a karaoke building alright.

Natsuki's grip around the waist became tight and she nuzzled deeper, breathing in the winter chill of the lustrous light brown hair that her partner carried. IT was somewhat refreshing.

'Fine as usual.'

'Ara? No karaoke party this winter?'

Natsuki grunted and shifted back to turn and eye the hand that she had brushed against her back. The owner to the hand gave a quick apology and a nod of amnesty for disturbing before turning back. Above the loud announcement for the arrival to the next station along the JR line sounded, Natsuki stood quiet for a while until the train slowly came to a slow halt. The carriage doors opened and the cramp situation eased a bit off her back. She looked down at crimson eyes and the doors closed after the warning of closure. Natsuki didn't know she would have continued to grow after the last few months in Fuuka. A year or two flew past so fast, enough for her not to realise that she grew over the level of looking up at crimson eyes. Then again, she knew during those moments when they embraced each other. It no longer felt so nostalgic like in Fuuka.

The deep pools of red encouraged her to speak at the rock start of the moving train to the next station. Natsuki breathed,

'Mai had no time for her winter karaoke party this year', her eyes caught onto another passing karaoke building. 'Preparing for company of both the Minagi and Kanzaki is not something she realised she could take lightly.'

A small chuckle was heard before her and she grinned,

'To think briefly about it, I think I rather cook than sing.'

'You can cook?' A teasing remark indeed, Natsuki scoffed,

'I rather eat my charred food with guest than crack window glasses.'

There was a laugh and she rubbed the sides of Shizuru's waist. Natsuki continued,

'You know the best how I sound when I sing!'

'You sound beautiful.'

What a fake compliment or so Natsuki thought. Nonetheless, it made her flush pink a little at her cheeks. Not so red, but pink. She growled lowly under the fluorescent lights of the train,

'I sound like a dying raven dammit!'

The following laughter made the lady beside them eye the both the former and latter suspiciously and Natsuki huffed out a breath of fading annoyance. The grip on her leather jacket front tightened and she allowed herself to be brought a little closer to her companion. In the rich Kyoto accent, her companion told her sincerely,

'You do sound beautiful, Natsuki.'

The crimson eyes that gazed up at her now glimmered in passion and honesty, the emerald eyes just gave into them. Natsuki lowered her head and she felt soft lips reach up to place a swift chaste kiss onto her forehead. She heard a sweet whisper,

'You really do.'

* * *

A bowl of steaming hot rice was placed in front of her, followed soon by a bowl of cloudy miso soup. The sweet fragrance of the hot liquid wrapped her nose and she felt sleepy once again. The clatter of food came a second later and Natsuki snapped back open to look at the simple meal that had been laid before her on the table. The fresh fried fish with a small clump of yellow coloured pickles was on one plate while a bowl of a simple salad was placed nearby. Emerald eyes looked on eagerly and took in a deep breath of the morning breakfast that lay before her. She reached for her chopsticks and as she raised the bowl of rice to her mouth, the door bell rang.

'Natsuki, could you get that?'

The sweet voice of Shizuru called out to her from the kitchen and Natsuki grumbled under a breath. Where was the peace in the morning? Languidly pushing herself away from the table, her tired legs dragged her slowly to the door. The second bell came and she cursed silently…

Impatient idiot.

Twisting the door knob, she pushed the door open and she sight set onto a man clad in grey.

Delivery man.

Goddammit, what did he have to deliver in the morning?

'Miss Fujino?'

Sending a glare at the man that stood at the same height as her, Natsuki peeled right through him. Watching him visibly shiver, she eyed the medium sized parcel that was in his hands. A clip board was slipped between his arms and he looked equally afraid as those who received her even well-known piercing glare. In a small grunt, Natsuki answered,

'No.'

'Ah? However the address stated here…'

'Who's it from.'

'I am sorry Ma'am but I cannot…'

A familiar warm presence came behind Natsuki and with expectance; she heard the Kyoto accent sound openly,

'Natsuki? Who is it?'

Emerald eyes kept forward as she felt a hand touch her arm, she saw a flicker of admiration appear in the delivery man's eyes and she stepped aside slowly. She breathed,

'Something for you, Shizuru.'

The delivery man looked in astonishment at the beauty that stepped out from behind the midnight blue. He stammered uncontrollably while he repeated the exact same words that was thrown to Natsuki earlier, however this time round, with a hint of shyness and the tinge of pink on his face,

'Miss Fujino?'

Shizuru gave into a nod as she was handed the parcel from the delivery man. He held out the clip board that had a thin slip of paper attached to it and motioned crimson to sign below. Turning gracefully to pass the parcel to Natsuki that stood protectively behind her partner; Shizuru elegantly took the pen and signed neatly at the allocated area. The delivery gave off his brightest smile,

'Good day.'

Crimson eyes twinkled in gratitude and followed her midnight blue back through the doorway. Emerald looked at the parcel and tapped lightly on the surface of the brown wrap. She looked on in amazement,

'Wood.'

'It's from father.'

* * *

'It's fragile. It reads fragile, Natsuki.'

Natsuki stopped her endeavour to rip the wrap apart and laid back to rest her head onto the front of the couch. Fingers played with her hair and she lifted the parcel up to pass it to her company behind her. Delicately, Shizuru took it from her partner's hands and unwrapped the rest of the brown paper that Natsuki had apparently did not manage to rip out. As the last paper was placed aside, the glow of the lacquered box inside gleamed in the sunlight that shone through the window. Lifting it up from the paper, it felt heavy, something that Shizuru did not think that could come in a rectangular box like this. She had thought it was tea then, but guessing the weight, it seemed not.

Natsuki turned and faced her partner that sat behind her on the couch; she straightened up slightly and peered suspiciously at it. She growled,

'What's inside?'

'Something heavy, that's fragile.'

'A bomb most likely.'

Shizuru sighed,

'It's from father.' Her fingers traced the lid of the box that had been craved with cherry blossoms that fluttered down with snow. Now that was quite a rare design, since the blossoms only bloomed after winter. She poked Natsuki on the forehead,

'Why would he want his very own daughter dead?'

Natsuki shrugged her shoulders and leaned into the presence of Shizuru, she said thoughtfully,

'Maybe, he wanted me dead.'

'Natsuki. Don't. Be. Silly.'

She raised her hands in defeat and grinned playfully at Shizuru, who stared angrily back. Calm fingers pried open the box and Natsuki looked on in anticipation. Shizuru allowed a gasp to escape from her lips while Natsuki eased a long breath. Emerald eyes looked that object inside and scoffed,

'A doll?'

Another finger poked her forehead and she groaned. Shizuru sighed once more at her partner's rational.

* * *

Shizuru fingered the collar of her partner's shirt and then she adjusted the tie that hung down in front. She heard a deep intake of breath and she smiled up at the emerald that looked weary at the place before her. Even though how she herself was on heels, it looked like the midnight blue was still made to over grow her own height of 163. Flicking the last remnant of dust on her partner's coat, she pulled herself up to place soft kiss onto the cold dry lips, she whispered as she lowered herself down,

'It's only a party.'

'A party with strangers!'

She gave off a chuckle as she watched the expression of her beloved Natsuki turn from a red tomato into a terrified little girl. How adorable. She touched the strong arm that was stiffly placed by the side of the rigid body, and pulled her partner over to her,

'I'll do the talking.'

'Gladly.'

* * *

'Shizuru!'

Oh, what was his name again? Shizuru spared him a glance and then a blink of her eyes. The presence of her partner beside her grew cold and she gave a reassuring squeeze to the hand that she linked with. The joyous man ran through the crowd of party goers and stopped abruptly with a wide smile in front of shocked crimson. A growl was heard beside her.

'I haven't seen you for such a long time!' the man reached over for an embrace and she reluctantly accepted it, 'How long has it been?'

A few days? Shizuru managed a fake smile and she suddenly felt the hand that was holding onto her leave. She turned immediately to find her partner gone. She had wanted that very moment to panic, but the presence of the man in front of her made she control all emotions. She started to get worried…what was this man's name again? Then, out of the blue, she heard her name being called out in the very voice of her partner that had disappear seconds ago,

'Shizuru!'

Shizuru spun around to find her midnight blue rushing to her through the crowd, an unusual smile on her face. Crimson gave out a weird noise from her throat and clasped her hand over her mouth to hide the obvious shock. The man that now stood beside her asked her oddly,

'Who is she?' There was an unfamiliar of discontent, 'I haven't seen her in the office before.'

Shizuru watched midnight blue arrive in front of her with a playful grin and then she heard the most unexpected line from her partner's mouth,

'Where were you?'

She had wanted to go into a question, but something in the back of her mind told her she need not to. In the end, she gave off a look of confusion and midnight blue looked straight and hard to the man that stood his ground beside crimson. Caught between the glares, Shizuru grabbed hold onto Natsuki's arm and forced out another smile, she decided that she rather play along than be made a fool for teases later.

She, after all, was the master of teases.

'This is Kuga Natsuki.'

* * *

A groan was heard and Shizuru rolled over to face tired emerald eyes. She reached back to hold the arm that had wrapped it way around her waist. She heard another groan and she leaned into the embrace. Under the warmth of the sheets, she could feel the fabric of her partner's night wear against her very own night yukata. How close they were. She traced her thumb along the sleek hand of midnight blue and she sighed,

'I'm sorry.'

'Stop apologising.' Emerald eyes were near to closing, 'Sleep. Now.'

Shizuru pulled herself closer to the body that embraced her and she nuzzled into the refreshing scent of midnight. Maybe, saying sorry tomorrow would be better.

* * *

'Merry Christmas!'

Natsuki nodded her head as she made her way around Mai's packed house. She spotted Mikoto at the table watching the food being brought out from the kitchen, and she shook her head. Taking slow steps to the back of the living room, she leaned against the wall and watched the scene form about her. Kazuya had apparently taken up the job of becoming a business man and Akane becoming his loving wife that stayed at home to look after the three children. Midori had returned to Fuuka to become the same rocking history teacher that still tells everybody that she's seventeen. Nao was now working as a hostess in some part of Shibuya and sometimes, Natsuki barely wanted to find out what she did after working hours. Akira had returned to Fuukouka with Takumi to start a small school that taught, unusually, the swordsmanship and cooking.

Natsuki turned to find the two sitting beside each other. They were a good pair from the start, anyway.

Shiho was still tending to the temple. Yuuichi had moved to Yokohama where he finally turned to look into baseball for a change. Yukino was somewhere in America and Haruka was working in some tip top company where she was somewhere near boss. Yukariko was back to working as a nun in Fuuka as her daughter was now old enough to run herself to middle school. Mikoto had tamed down recently and had gotten a well to do job, working as an assistant in a local pet shop. Reito was still somewhere in Tokyo running his father's business. Mai was the head chief in an up class restaurant down in the Minato district and Shizuru was the head of a worldwide company that Natsuki had no nerve to get her nose stuck inside. While she…

She was the same old, the same old Kuga Natsuki that worked as a conductor on the local JR line.

Now she really wondered why her crimson-eyed partner stuck to her.

'Natsuki?'

She snapped out of her reverie and turned to the voice that had called out to her. Her emerald eyes softened as her partner walked towards her,

'Dinner's ready.'

'Oh really?'

She turned back to find Mikoto launching herself at the food with a disappointed Mai watching hopelessly. Everyone around was laughing with the glowing vivacity all around them. She felt a hand touch her arm as usual and Natsuki pushed herself off the wall to make it to the table. However before she did so, she placed a soft kiss onto the smooth pink lips of her brown haired companion and smiled a warm smile,

'Thank you.'

* * *

'It's beautiful.'

'It's nothing really.'

'Thank you Natsuki.'

'No, thank you.'

Shizuru looked up from her wrist where she clipped on the bracelet. Her eyes met gleaming emerald and she moved over to reach over to hold her quivering midnight blue rider.

* * *

She sneezed into the cold air of Tokyo and sneezed again. Natsuki rubbed her nose and waited patiently at the base of the temple. A strong smell of roasted chestnuts soon filled her nostrils and she looked beside her to find Shizuru holding a packet of what she clearly smelled. The white fur that wrapped around her partner's neck looked too comfortable to enjoy and Natsuki sighed, if only she had bought a thicker coat. Motioning Shizuru to start walking, both of them slowly descended the temple stairs that led to the main road. People were slowly streaming upwards to the temple to offer a prayer or two for the New Year, and as the two slowly made their way down, they realised how the numbers increased.

Natsuki watched Shizuru replace her kanzashi to a better position before her partner ran a hand through the tail that came down. Natsuki held out a hand to her partner and they leaned into each other as they walked to the train station. The packet of roasted chestnuts steaming within their hands.

They had prayed for nothing more than a better year ahead.

It was simple.

They were simple.

Life was simple.

* * *

Emerald eyes looked into her mug and stared listlessly at the dark brown coffee that swirled effortlessly. She narrowed her eyes and placed it onto the low table of the train office lounge. Noisily letting herself fall back onto the musty old green couch, she groaned to no one in particular; after all she was the only one in the vicinity.

'This coffee stinks.'

Natsuki kicked her legs onto the table and she gave into a sigh. Her next shift in the conductor's stand was in five minutes; she was tired of looking at people stream through the gates and she was lazy to sit there all day until the late evening to end her shift. She retied her shoe laces and she fiddled with her uniform button. At least the train station she was working was near home. She needn't need to wait for another hour before arriving back home. Natsuki sighed once more,

'Bring some fun into this.'

Then it seemingly came, unexpectedly, as she wished for. How coincidental she may have thought.

'Kuga!'

She stumbled to her feet at her superior's voice, 'Yes?'

'You've got a guest.'

'What?'

Natsuki scratched her head and moved over to the door, bowing meekly to make her way past her superior. She looked up to meet someone she really hardly expected to meet here. Especially when it was during the early hours of the afternoon. She gaped,

'Shizuru? What are you doing here?' she rushed forward to the lady that stood perfectly elegant in front of both Natsuki and the other, 'Don't you have work?'

Emerald caught onto a flicker of disappointment within those crimson eyes and she quickly turned to excuse herself and her guest from the curious eyes of her superior. She reached out to grab hold onto the gloved hands that was carrying a grocery bag, and pulled her over to the corner. She eyed her brown haired partner that stood in her business attire…why was Shizuru out at this hour?

'I realised that Natsuki forgot to take her lunch with her today.'

'Ah?'

Natsuki watched a hand reached into the grocery bag to pull out a small box. She took it cautiously from her partner's hand and looked up baffled,

'You came here all the way to give me lunch?' Emerald saw a nod of the head, and she choked, 'But you have work to do Shizuru! You don't need to bring yourself here to give me this.'

The smile she loved to adore faltered and Natsuki started to worry. However, somehow, things picked themselves back up as midnight blue felt a hand touch her arm and a certain comfortable warmth lean into her. Natsuki embraced it and she heard the rich Kyoto voice of Shizuru,

'If not, then who would be one coming back complaining of an empty stomach?'

She relaxed into the body in front of her and answered,

'Me.'

All in all, after a few more questions and answers, the tension seemed to dissipate and they themselves found their lips meshed against each other. Sadly their…make up session was abruptly ended when a shocked attending conductor arrived to find himself in for almost a nose bleed.

* * *

'Na. Tsu. Ki?'

Shizuru stared in at shock. She told herself, that this wasn't correct. The sight before her wasn't what she had expected to see. It just seemed impossible to be true.

'Ah? What's the matter Shizuru?'

Her midnight blue seemed unfazed of what was happening between them, however, all Shizuru could do was to hold her very shocked expression. Her partner then realised how awkward things were going,

'Shizuru. Your expression is…' There was a short pause before Natsuki continued, 'weird.'

Shizuru visibly shook on her stand. The sight of Natsuki looking like that before her made her unsure of what was happening to her partner, hence she was bold enough to question,

'Your hair?'

There was a flash in Natsuki's eyes before she continued on,

'What happened to your hair?'

A certain uneasy silence engulfed them before a hesitant voice of her partner was thrown across the board,

'Well…Ah, I kind of made a bet with Nao that we had to…' There was more uncertainty within the voice, 'Erm…'

'Natsuki.'

All she could do was to look at her midnight blue with an expression that she knew that her partner could not avoid answering with the truth. However, there was still trepidation growing in the atmosphere. Shizuru couldn't hold it,

'Natsuki.'

'Oh, the groceries.' Crimson watched emerald lower to the ground, 'I'll bring them in to the kitchen.'

There was worry and regret. Shizuru didn't want this again. The carnival of their dying dances was long over and dead on the ground when they left Fuuka. She had already learnt the hard way to throw away her façade; she did not want it to cover her again like how the moon engulfed her in her selfish desires.

'Ack. Great. It looks that you brought more leek.'

She had the four leaved on her side, somehow, somewhere; she could lead herself from this distaste is she wanted to. She knew she could.

'Natsuki, why did you cut your hair?'

The regret was finally sprawled all over her partner's face and she felt crushed, was it something that Natsuki had done just for her? Yet she remembered that she had never asked of her partner to do anything. Lowering herself to the level of her kneeling partner, she reached out to place a warm hand onto the cold cheek. She watched a flinch occur and she said softly,

'Please, Natsuki?'

Then she saw recognition, and she smiled. Maybe there was something to worry, even after when the carnival was somehow over for a long period.

* * *

Shizuru snapped out of her slumber to find herself alone. Well, she wasn't really alone. She had the whole carriage of people to say that she wasn't alone. Nonetheless, it was implied that she was alone due to the fact that she could not set sight onto her midnight blue rider anywhere. She looked around and then her actions caught onto the eyes of a teenager that sat opposite them,

'She went to the toilet.'

Crimson eyes widened at the statement and said a form of thank you with a small smile. She looked on at the high school girl that sat in her school uniform opposite her, was she going to Kyoto too? However in a school uniform? Her eyes were caught back by strong brown eyes and she flinch slightly at the contact. To her surprise, the young girl spoke out to her,

'You two look like the best of friends.' Shizuru shifted slightly in her seat, 'You are, aren't you?'

'Yes.'

She dare not step over the boundary that held her free from the uncouth society that ruled out the unfortunate that deemed her state disgusting. The school girl looked on in adoration and sighed dreamily,

'No wonder.' There was a pause, 'You slept so calmly.'

Shizuru raised an eyebrow. Can one really tell by that? Maybe there was no harm in believing that. Crimson looked out of the window that watch the green fields speed past her, like a mirage that wasn't even there in the first place. This was how fast it was on the speed of lightness. The bullet train that ran on the line through Japan.

'Ah, Shizuru. You're awake.'

She gave into a smile when she found the presence of her Natsuki back beside her. Then she could another pair of eyes on her and she found those brown eyes of the young girl on her. She turned to find a dreamy smile on the teenager's face and she heard a unusual question that she thought that she would be the one asking the girl,

'Where are you two going?' There was a sparkle in the girl's eyes, 'Kyoto? Fuukouka? Nagasaki?'

Ah, she heard a noise from her partner and she looked softly at the girl seated in front of her,

'Kyoto.'

'For a holiday?'

'Hey, what about you?' Shizuru was shocked to find her partner interfering in a conversation, 'Why is a school girl like you on the bullet train? Don't you have school to attend?'

There was an awkward silence between the three before the girl pursed her lips and allowed a small blush to don her cheeks. Shizuru felt her partner's hand on her own on the arm rest and she looked oddly at Natsuki before looking back at the girl. The voice of the girl became a whisper that Shizuru could barely make it out even how smooth the train was riding,

'It's a secret.'

'Then ours is a secret too.'

Shizuru wanted to laugh at her partner's choice of words; instead she covered a chuckle behind a hand. Nonetheless there was a protest that followed soon after,

'But!'

'No buts'!'

Shizuru leaned back slightly into her seat and stared out once again at the fields of early spring. How long was it to Kyoto?

* * *

Natsuki felt weird that she had cut her hair to a length where all she could do was have an adorable short pony tail. She should have thought about it, rather than rushing straight into the event just in hopes to please Shizuru's father.

'That's a very nice tail.'

She dropped herself inelegantly onto the smooth tatami beside her partner that was dressed in a simple, yet beautiful lavender kimono. While she, on the other hand, was dressed in just a tee and pants. Natsuki sighed, and she said she wanted to impress her partner's father since the last meeting a year back. Well, cutting her hair to a decent length and trimmed neatly would sure to please him in a way, or else she would have done something utterly useless to get no results. Anyway, it was he who had said that she looked like an over grown ghost with that kind of hair pulled over her face. Natsuki herself didn't know whether that was a compliment or an insult, Shizuru didn't help better when she didn't answer her question.

'Ugh, Shizuru, don't start.'

'I did not say anything.'

Natsuki growled at crimson's tease and she pulled forward to slouch. It was going to be long day.

* * *

'Can't sleep?'

Natsuki felt the form in the dark move over to sit beside her bed matting. Slowly, she pulled up and took her brown haired companion into her arms. The air was still and in one of the guest rooms of the Fujino household, Natsuki could hear nothing but the soft breathing of their mingling breaths. She was long accustomed to her heart and its beating when it came to such close contact. Kissing the forehead of her crimson eyed beauty, she heaved a breath that was long and slow that it allowed a question to escape from the lips she dearly wanted to kiss, even at this hour.

'How is it that you know so much?'

'About?'

There was a shuffle of movement and Natsuki felt her own hand over a beating heart of her beloved. It was fast yet steady, and the supple mound of flesh below was pounding along with it. Even though it was in the dark, she still wanted to know that she was not blushing. Natsuki bent her neck and nuzzled into the inviting neck, she placed a chaste kiss before murmuring into the brown hair that now carried the strong smell of spring grass,

'Aren't I the one that's supposed to be asking you that?'

'Well, I'm the one that asked first.'

Natsuki snorted at the retort as she rocked the both of them. She pulled back slightly and use her other hand to trace a pattern on the smooth skin. She smiled and pulled the both of them to fall back onto the bed matting. There was soft laughter and Natsuki closed her eyes,

'Sometimes I wonder to.'

'That's not a very nice answer.'

The fingers that played with her short hair stopped and went over to climb over her shoulders. Natsuki breathed in deeply as she felt the body move on top of her. She rested her arm around the lithe body and she heard the soft sweet voice,

'They say that a person with cold hands has a warm heart.'

'That's a lie. Where did you hear that?'

'Well, you do have cold hands don't you?'

'What?'

There was a chuckle from above her,

'That's the only way you can make me shiver in pleasure.'

Natsuki clicked her mouth shut in order to stop herself from yelling out in embarrassment; instead she let loose a low growl that made her partner tighten her embrace. Soon, she found herself listening to the soft hum of her partner's voice and then sooner than expected she found herself drifting off into light sleep. Her light snooze that she had was awoken by the soft shuffle of her partner's kiss on her lips.

With that both of them smiled.

* * *

**A/N: **It's only up till spring for the both of them now. Don't worry, this is not a one-shot. There'll be another chapter to pull summer, autumn and winter together. Once again, I hope that you have enjoyed reading. It's something simple in contrast to my one-shots, therefore one can get a break from reading so many words. 'And I was the concierge' is coming soon so look out for it.

**A Note:** I'll be moving my daily progress updates of my Mai-Hime one-shots and stories from my deviantart account to my first ever blog (even though how much I don't want one), so it will be easier for everyone. Non-deviantart members can now have a say, comments on my blog are open to all. Feel free to check it out! The link to it is as stated: j-crusader. blogspot .com. Thank you for the hard work!

Then again,

Cheers!


	2. Spring

**A/N:** I love stories like these since all it does shows it the slices of life that these two share, it is graphically visual. Like the chapter before, the breaks are used to seperate each short daily peek, it can be continuous. It is up to one to see. Since the last chapter was from winter to early spring, this chapter will continue from early spring to the near end of spring.

Especially for **Alison**, thank you for the never ending support; I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Until the end, I will not hinder-

* * *

'That's a very big bruise.'

Natsuki felt the water around her chest rise and settle after a moment of movement in the lukewarm water. Emerald found crimson looking at the large bruise on her upper arm and Natsuki slipped her body lower into the water. She took in the heavy flora scent mixed with the whiff of tea and closed her eyes to the touch of her partner's hand on her arm. It was not long before she heard another comment from her partner.

'It's weird; father doesn't hit people on the arms during practice.'

'Ugh, it was more of a death match.'

The sweet laughter from Shizuru sounded in the bathroom, and emerald eyes tightened even more at the tease that she knew would come sooner or later. Natsuki could feel Shizuru's hand travel up slowly from her bruised arm to her neck, before it came to rest on her collar. Her body invited the warm presence of her partner and relaxed at the contact of skin upon skin. Upon hearing more water being filtered into the wooden tub, Natsuki brought her hands up to the surface of the water and splashed her face.

'I thought the use of the naginata is to defend oneself, not attack.'

Natsuki lifted her head up and dropped the small white towel into the clear water; not long before wringing it damp to place it on her head. In the rich Kyoto accent, her partner chuckled,

'It is, Natsuki.'

'Tell that to your father,' emerald met up with the crimson eyes that stared at her in surprise, 'He can gladly turn a naginata into a sword.'

A sweet chuckle was let loose and Natsuki rubbed her shoulders effortlessly before reaching over to her partner in the water,

'Ugh, it's not funny Shizuru; I barely came out of there alive.'

'Ara? However, you are surviving are you not?'

Pulling Shizuru into a loose embrace, Natsuki let out a soft growl and played with the loose strands of brown hair that trickled down from the side of her face. The thick atmosphere of steam mixed with the scent of cedar wrapped the both of them. The soft chirps of the crickets were echoing and the knock-and-lock of the water bamboo pole could be heard outside at timed intervals. It was not long before Natsuki turned red and crimson eyes could barely keep her mirth when her midnight blue partner disagreed.

'Natsuki? Is my eye colour that contagious?'

'Don't start. I'm getting out already.'

Shizuru watched the hands around her waist unwind and the legs on either side of her bend. Sooner than she expected, her ears picked up her partner's infamous grunt and the sound of rushing water around her. Her skin felt the loss of contact and Shizuru turned to find Natsuki wrapping the large white towel around her body. It was quite a sight to see, but then, Shizuru decided that she'll let the teasing slip. Her crimson eyes soon met up with clear emerald that looked back, and Shizuru gave into a sweet smile.

'Don't stay in there for too long.'

'I think without Natsuki in here, I won't stay for another second.'

It didn't mean to be a tease but Shizuru was happy enough to see a slight blush cross her partner's face. It wasn't as red as it used to be; from the fact that her teasing had gone on for years, it was expected that her partner has somewhat grown immune to it by now. Then again, the colour of pink wasn't as bad as a colour to see it light up on Natsuki's face. Shizuru watched her midnight blue raise a simple hand to gesture her leave from the bathroom and it was not long before she herself turned red and decided that it was indeed a stay she couldn't last without her beloved.

* * *

Natsuki could smell the rich scent of grilled beef from the courtyard and she couldn't help but wander to its source and find herself standing behind Shizuru in the kitchen of the Fujino household. Looking over her brown haired companion, she eyed the thick pieces of red meat that lay on the small open grill. As expected, her emerald eyes were glanced by briefly by crimson. Her ears perked up at the sound of the Kyoto voice of lady before her,

'Ara? What might Natsuki want from the kitchen?'

Reluctantly pulling herself away from Shizuru standing in front of the grill, Natsuki dragged her feet to the fridge that stood at the corner of kitchen,

'Nothing really, I was just looking at how you do grill.'

Letting her eyes glance back briefly at the juicy meat that lay upon the open grill and her nose take in the rich fragrance, Natsuki pulled the fridge door open. Her actions went unnoticed by Shizuru, but like stated before, in times like these, her partner always knew what she was looking at, or something about, even when those crimson eyes weren't looking.

'Dinner will be served soon.'

Oh, she knew it was the beef alright.

Closing the door shut, emerald looked at crimson that sparkled in hilarity at her and all Natsuki could do was grunt and shuffle back to where Shizuru stood. Taking in another deep breath, Natsuki looked over her partner's shoulder,

'Wagyu beef?'

'Natsuki knows what she likes.'

She blew a quick breath into the ear of her Kyoto beauty and watched the expression of Shizuru change from hilarity to embarrassment. Reaching out to grab hold on her partner's hand with the pair of stainless steel spatula, she guided Shizuru's hand to the almost done slice of beef on the grill. Shizuru looked in amusement at her midnight blue's actions and soon enough realised what her beloved was doing.

'Natsuki, it's for dinner.' She playfully slapped the hand that was on hers, 'Wait until then; you will get your share.'

Giving off a simple sigh, Natsuki took a step back before she noticed that black lacquered bowls that were placed out nearby on the wooden table. The pot of steaming rice was ready to be brought out and the yellow pickles that were placed on the plates were ready to be joined by the smoked fish that was on another plate. Eyeing the busy Shizuru, Natsuki rolled up her sleeves and moved over to wash her hands.

'Ara?'

Taking the rice pot off the counter, Natsuki moved pass Shizuru and nudged her gently. With that, Shizuru left a lingering touch on the toned arm of her Natsuki as the midnight blue promptly left the kitchen.

* * *

Standing at exactly ten steps away from the medium sized coin offering box in front of the smiling black Buddha upon a sacks of rice, Natsuki raised her hand and aimed the 100 yen coin. At the level of her eyes, she tried her movement and at the third try, she let the silver coin fly through the air. As confident as ever, Natsuki did hear the clatter of her thrown coin and she flashed her emerald eyes at the crimson eyes that looked on in happiness.

Giving into a wide grin, Natsuki clapped her hands thrice and placed her hands together. Lowering her head, she hesitated and it didn't go unnoticed by Shizuru that stood by the side with her partner's coat in hand. Crimson eyes took notice of the uncertainty within those emeralds of Natsuki, but a second later did she see them close and give into the silent wish that her partner wanted so.

'I imagined that the coin would land on the floor.'

'Really?' Shizuru passed Natsuki her jacket and gestured to walk on, 'I thought it would drop in perfectly.'

Shizuru grazed her hand along the wooden pillars of the Kiyomizu temple and walked over to the veranda of the temple that over looked the east of Kyoto. She gave into a breath of excitement into the morning air and she felt the familiar warm presence of Natsuki arrive beside her. She turned back to give her partner her cheerful smile and moved back to look at the stream of people and tourist groups that moved up the stone stairs.

'Haven't you been here before?'

There was no harm in being the little girl she used to be and Shizuru gladly reverted back to the little Kyoto girl that she had been so long ago.

'Yes,' she placed a finger on her chin and leaned over the wooden banister and looked down at the rocked paths spread out below in the green foliage, 'Though I remember doing something below.'

'At the Otowa waterfall?'

Crimson eyes moved over to look at where Natsuki had pointed over to and she shook her head at the sight of people collecting the spring water that flowed down from the mountains above. Shizuru scanned the green trees below the raised temple and her eyes finally caught sight onto the certain path that she remembered vividly.

'Natsuki, come.'

Emerald eyes had to be torn away from looking at the people at the Otowa waterfall below and be dragged quite enthusiastically by her brown haired Kyoto companion. Down another flight of stone steps they went and through the herd of tourists that had gathered at the Otowa waterfall. Leading her midnight blue rider by her hand through the green canopy above their head, Shizuru stopped in front of a huge rock placed in the middle of the pavement.

Standing in front of the stone happily, she pulled Natsuki close to her.

'Eh! You remember this!?'

Shizuru issued a rare chirp of happiness and handed her handbag over to Natsuki that read the words that were placed on the rock that was tied with the white thick string of prayer.

'Will Natsuki assist me?'

Natsuki allowed her jaw to turn slack and raised an eye brow at her sudden hyper companion that was at the moment twirling around her in glee. She looked ahead in the distance and as expected found the other stone that looked like the one before her and gave out a breath,

'Won't it be more worth it if you walk it alone?'

'Natsuki, you are my romantic interest, aren't you?'

At that, Shizuru was glad to see her partner turn into a shade of light pink and clenching her teeth in embarrassment. She pulled onto the strong arm that stood next to her and looked on at the other people that had come here to do exactly what she wanted to do.

'Shizuru, it is only 18 metres from this rock to the other.' Crimson looked up to find emerald glancing into the distance,

'I'm sure you'll make it there.'

Shizuru looked at the visitors that visited the Jishu shrine situated within the complex of the Kiyomizu temple and at the rocks that her parents had brought her too long ago when she was child. Her crimson eyes noted onto the few that walked the 18 metres, which Natsuki so simply stated, with their eyes closed. Furthermore, she realised that most of them were being assisted. Then, a rare pout from Shizuru was seen, indeed,

'Please Natsuki.'

'Come on; do you really believe in this?'

'Apparently.'

She watched Natsuki give into a sigh and to her partner's surprise, jumped when emerald motioned her to stand properly in front of the stone. Placing her hand onto the ones of her midnight blue rider, Shizuru looked at the other stone 18 metres away. This time, she told herself, she will make it there. Before closing her eyes, she heard a grunt from Natsuki,

'Haven't you already found love?'

* * *

'I thought you planned of wearing something more…' Emerald looked up the crimson that looked at her on the smooth bamboo flooring of the Fujino household, 'simple?'

Natsuki watched her partner's eye brows rise and she looked at the furisode that Shizuru wore. She gave into another quick glance at the traditional kimono that was dyed with the exotic colours of autumn and the intricate design of the maples and the lovely flowers of the red camellia. Emerald looked into the deep pools crimson and gave a forced smile.

'I'm sorry Natsuki, but mother insisted I wore this.'

Watching her partner drop gracefully onto the ground into seiza position, Natsuki couldn't help but scan Shizuru once more and look into the crimson that showed concern.

'You look beautiful.'

She saw a genuine smile form on Shizuru's face and Natsuki allowed deft fingered to once again adjust the tie she had lazily thrown over her neck hoping that she could get away from wearing it to the dinner. Fingering the collar of her beloved, Shizuru noticed how tensed Natsuki was and the expression of fatigue plague her face. Hearing a deep inhale come from her partner, Shizuru waited before she moved away from adjusting and waited for the emerald eyes to look at her own.

'Father likes you the way you are.' Shizuru knew better than anyone, for the better of her parents that had accepted her terms, 'mother does too.'

Shizuru knew it wasn't as such a smooth journey she had expected, but alas, she came out polished after seven years of confrontation. Her desires and her selfishness, her greed and so much more…then again, Shizuru realised that the experience was the one that mattered. This was something new, their carnival of dying dances were over.

Get over it. Worry could come later, it was part of the package but Shizuru knew.

She knew that she had the four leaved clover on her side this time.

'That's helps.'

She traced her finger down Natsuki's smooth cheek,

'I'm sure.'

Placing a chaste kiss onto her partner's lips, Shizuru pulled back and smiled at the sight of her flushing midnight blue companion. Taking the smooth hand from Shizuru, Natsuki held it tightly and kissed it deeply before she brought it to her nose breathed in the light flora tea scent of her partner. She placed it against her cheek and felt the tender response from Shizuru.

It wasn't a rough journey after all.

* * *

Natsuki felt a finger touch the end of her cheek and she noticed a second later that Shizuru had taken off a grain of rice from her face. Emerald looked at her brown haired companion that sat beside her on the smooth ride home to Tokyo. On the speed of lightness, it mattered to Natsuki how clam and serene it was to spend around 4 hours with Shizuru.

A busy day in Tokyo, she was sure she wouldn't be able to spend at least a good hour a peace. Well, she knew she had to avoid putting the moment before sleep inside the equation, for it seemed that were the only hours that they happily spent time with no worries.

Natsuki looked at the lunch box that she had bought on the train and picked at the fried chicken that looked too good to be appetising. The white rice glossed like plastic under the warm light of the night express bullet train that ran from Shin-Osaka to Tokyo. On the Tōkaidō line, Natsuki realised it wasn't long before their train would arrive at the Shinagawa station.

'Ara? Lost your appetite?'

'Ah?'

Emerald looked into the deep pools that questioned her and realised that Shizuru was leaning over the hand rest and looking at her with worry. Natsuki eased a short chuckle and poked at the rice with the wooden chopsticks,

'No, I was just thinking about something.'

She heard a chuckle of amusement from Shizuru, 'I thought you were feeling sick.'

Feeling the light touch push away a stray strand of hair, Natsuki placed a chunk of rice into a mouth and chewed slowly. She watched her partner move back to reading her book and Natsuki herself leaned back into the seat and stared at her rice once again.

Maybe she was feeling kind of sick.

* * *

'You can take the JR East Keihin-Tōhoku Line; the rapid service can take you to Akibahara.'

Natsuki gave into a smile as she pointed the route on the train map to the lost tourist that ended up in the local JR station of Mitaka than the JR station at Akibahara. Oh, her English wasn't that bad, but she kind of sounded like a badly played recorder just trying to speak broken English, or so her colleagues say. The poor lost tourist gave into understanding nod and followed up on asking her where he could purchase a ticket.

Quite fortunately, for Natsuki it was on the last minutes of her shift before she could punch off and head home. Coming out of the attending train office counter, she gestured the man towards the ticketing machine and proceeded to tell him, quite brokenly, how to purchase a ticket. In the end, as customer service would say excellent, Natsuki did the necessary things and handed the content tourist his train ticket before giving a bow and watching him pass through the gates of the Mitaka station.

Well, at least she could understand English. It wasn't that bad.

Coming behind the attending counter, the midnight blue slipped back onto her seat. It was not long before she heard the door open to reveal the next attendant, this time, not like always, with a certain brown haired companion that looked much like…

'Shizuru?'

'You've got a guest.'

Natsuki bowed off her seat and moved over to let the attending conductor take his place behind the glass screen that over looked the passenger gantries that led in and out of Mitaka station. Sliding off the step to close the door shut behind her, Natsuki looked at the elegant Kyoto beauty that stood in front of her in her business attire. In one hand, Natsuki noticed the extra bag that Shizuru was carrying and raised a curious eyebrow.

'Since I came back just about five minutes ago,' pulling off her gloves, emerald eyes noticed the radiance that her partner somehow showed off tonight, 'I thought I might as well wait for Natsuki to finish.'

'Oh.'

Natsuki didn't take that long to gather her stuff, change out of her uniform, and meet Shizuru at the front of the Mitaka station. It was getting dark as the night sky tore through the evening sky. The clouds had turned slightly black at that and Natsuki briefly wondered whether it would rain. Taking a quick check at her wallet, she noticed the amount of cash she barely had to even have a take out with Shizuru.

It was what Natsuki had thought of doing while she was changing. It was good thought though.

It seemed that home was the only option for dinner then; then again, she hoped that Shizuru didn't plan on whipping up a meal that the main dish had a lot of leek inside. Emerald glanced at the road before she picked up her steps with her partner that had moved ahead of her. She noticed the extra small bag that Shizuru carried and couldn't help but give into curiosity.

'What did you buy this time?'

'Something.'

'Be specific Shizuru.'

All Natsuki was given back was a bright smile that unnerved the midnight blue rider a little; she hadn't really seen her crimson-eyed partner so jovial before, with the exception of good days which she could easily take note off. Stepping off the last step of the overhead bridge, Natsuki took up the mixed fragrance of flowers and tea and leaned into the inviting presence that too leaned into her.

Shizuru's hand found its way to grasp Natsuki's hand,

'Natsuki, are you hungry?'

'No, not really.'

'Could you be?'

Emerald eyes widened at her partner's connotation and flushed a little, looking away slightly. She noticed that Shizuru moved in a little closer that their comfort zone in public and Natsuki distracted her mind,

'Shizuru, what did you buy?'

Shizuru watched her partner finger the bag that was her grasp and Natsuki was returned with a coy smile from Shizuru. It made the atmosphere a little too hot for spring and dense from the fact it was already night. There was a tad bit of tension, not until Shizuru traced a tempting finger down the face of her beloved and whispered softly,

'Tonight, you'll see,' a soft kiss on the lips and a brush of body against body, 'if you're willing to have dessert.'

* * *

Pushing the covers off her body, Shizuru realised that she was an hour late from waking up on her usual schedule. The clock on the side of the bed read thirty minutes past seven and it was unusual to find Natsuki not next to her at this early hour.

'Natsuki?'

There was once were Shizuru woke up, quite early, to find her midnight blue rider no where in the house. Only to find Natsuki with a grocery bag walking through the front door minutes later after searching the whole apartment. She realised that her heart was thumping just like it was before, just that she realised it didn't carry so much uncertainty and worry.

Sliding off the bed, deep crimson looked around their room to find that Natsuki's ironed uniform was not on the cupboard top and her night wear strewn across the floor. It seemed that her beloved was in a hurry to leave the house this morning. Then again, didn't Natsuki shift start only in the early hours of the afternoon?

'Natsuki?'

'I'm going, Shizuru!'

Crimson eyes widened at the sound of Natsuki's voice run down through the corridor. She was still in the house. Hastily making her way to the front door, Shizuru managed to call out to her dark haired partner before watching her leave in the morning.

'Where are you going?'

'Work?'

Shizuru managed between looking at her partner's attire and formulating a question in her mind that she unconsciously reached out to grab hold onto Natsuki's crisp shirt.

'Doesn't your shift only start in the afternoon?'

'I'm working on two shifts today,' crimson eyes widened a little bit more and Natsuki stepped back and placed a swift kiss onto Shizuru's forehead, 'I'll be back in the evening like always.'

'Have you had breakfast?'

'I'll get something from Lawsons.'

Shizuru moved forward to give into the embrace that Natsuki willingly leaned in to accept. Pulling back to see her partner wave and run down the corridor of their apartment block, Shizuru stepped back in only after she realised that Natsuki had long gone and it was her turn to get ready for work. It seemed so different to find Natsuki putting in so much effort to earn more. It wasn't really what Shizuru had in mind, she didn't mind that her partner worked at the local JR line as an attending conductor.

It was the person that mattered.

It was how simple life could be.

* * *

'Would you have loved me if I were a boy?'

Natsuki glanced over to her brown haired companion that abruptly stopped eating the cold noodles on her plate. Emerald looked into shocked and surprise crimson. Yes, it was quite a sudden question, especially on a day that Natsuki took the option of taking Shizuru out to eat. Well, indeed, she did quite ruin the peaceful moment. The midnight blue rider ending up staring a little bit longer than usual at the Kyoto beauty before her, much so to the fact that she wanted to hear an answer.

It was a spur of a moment question, just to kill the silence, but it seemed that it just made the silence grow.

'Ah, forget I asked.'

Lowering her eyes back onto her rice that was covered with egg and onions, Natsuki lifted the bowl of rice to her mouth. However those crimson eyes didn't take its stare off her partner as the actions of eating continued on. The local restaurant near the border of Shinjuku station was bustling in activity, but for the corner where their table was situated…it was more like a no man's land.

Deathly silence, it was.

It frightened Natsuki quite a lot, noticing that the fact that Shizuru had stopped eating her cold noodles and was primarily preoccupied with looking at her eat. Emerald eyes hesitantly looked up after shoving quite a big chunk of rice with a pork cutlet into her mouth. She noticed that a serene smile had formed on her partner's face and Natsuki held back from swallowing.

'I think I would have,' Natsuki watched those pink lips part, 'loved you if you were a boy.'

Watching the faint glow of pink spread across the cheeks of her partner, Natsuki realised she had difficulty swallowing her large mouthful of rice and meat. It was unusual so, since Shizuru had once particularly told her that she preferred girls over boys. However, Natsuki didn't realise that Shizuru could also turn the other way. Hence, Natsuki choked.

'Ara. Natsuki, you should watch how much you put into your mouth.'

After a gag and placing a thump on her chest, emerald eyes refocused onto the glowing crimson that looked lovingly at her. It showed truth and sincerity but Natsuki gave of a huff of breath in disagreement,

'I'm sure you wouldn't have even noticed me if I were a boy.'

Crimson eyes widened at that comment and Natsuki noticed Shizuru move back to attend to her cold noodles that had long ago turned even colder. It seemed that the conversation should be scrapped, and Natsuki guiltily returned to her bowl of rice. Her ears picked up the welcoming ring from the waitresses of the restaurant upon an entry of a customer and soon after the sweet familiar Kyoto accent,

'It is partially true that I wouldn't have noticed you at first if you were a boy.'

Natsuki let her mouth turn slack and she lowered her rice bowl to find Shizuru stirring her noodles inside the clear brown cold noodle sauce. The Kyoto beauty continued,

'Yet in the end, sooner or later, I would have noticed you,' crimson eyes barely lifted off from the food she was tending, 'despite you being a boy.'

Emerald eyes looked into the clear deep crimson pools and found out how is sparkled in adoration,

'It wasn't the gender I was attracted to…' Shizuru smiled fondly at her partner, 'It was Natsuki.'

The midnight blue rider lowered her head in embarrassment and allowed a blush to seep across her face just this once to please her brown haired companion. Nevertheless, she heard more from Shizuru that she least expected,

'Natsuki will always be Natsuki,' she gazed at Shizuru that brought her chin to rest on her free hand, 'whether be it boy or girl.'

Natsuki smiled,

'Like always.'

* * *

The quality was worth it, but the price was just too much to handle that Natsuki found herself wanting to drag her persistent partner away.

'It is really expensive Shizuru.'

'Really?'

Emerald eyes watched Shizuru hold out the width of the dress,

'I think it is reasonably, though.'

'Save me.'

* * *

Touching the ends of Shizuru's light brown hair that ended nicely in natural curls, Natsuki realised that her hair was not long from its usual length. It was about the time that she was getting quite use to her short hair she had decided to cut to impress Shizuru's father. Well, indeed, she did get a praise or two from the stern man from the south; quite sarcastically put across that she didn't look like the over grown ghost she use to look like with that long hair of hers.

'Is there something wrong?'

Emerald eyes looked down to find crimson eyes eyeing her actions. The train carriage jerked a little and both of them swayed on their stand while the train on the local JR line sped through the tunnels. The fluorescent lights of the train allowed the crimson to see her partner shake her head away and return to look at the blur of black outside the train.

'Where are we going exactly?'

Shizuru looked up to the emerald eyes that questioned her, her shoulder rubbed against the thin jacket of her partner and she raised a finger to her lips to give the answer.

'Can you not be so secretive, like always?'

She chuckled at the stubbornness of her beloved and reached out to hold on the strong arm beside her. The trained jerked and the nasal announcement sounding the arrival at the next station rang above. Shizuru adjusted her hold once again and moved a little closer to Natsuki,

'Why is Natsuki so eager to find out where we are going?'

'I'm not eager, I'm curious.' There was a pause, 'There's a difference there Shizuru.'

Dropping her head onto the shoulder next to her, she gave out a small breath and slipped her hand around to hold onto her partner's arm. Natsuki forced a sigh at her brown haired-companions actions and decided that pursuing the location they were heading during the early hours of a Sunday morning was useless.

* * *

'Do you have an appointment?'

Natsuki looked at the receptionist quite dumbly. Emerald eyes widened at that and she pursed her lips, trying very hard to remember if Shizuru had told her to say yes to a question like that. Natsuki gulped quickly and her hands went for her wallet in her pants and forced out a smile, she was down right nervous.

'Yes, an appointment with Shi…' Natsuki took note that hardly anyone here knew who she was, 'with Fujino Shizuru.'

The lady behind the counter stared up her in somewhat surprise and leaned forward in her stand to give a scan with her dark eyes at Natsuki's attire. Natsuki heaved a breath as she reached to flip open her wallet and take out her name card that Shizuru had prepared earlier for her. Well, it was an old business card of Natsuki's; how long ago was she making a living off making paper lanterns and props for movie sets? She was still somewhat surprised that Shizuru had kept a copy of her old name card from long ago.

'Kuga. Kuga Natsuki.'

Natsuki slipped the paper card forward on the counter and she received an uncertain look from the receptionist after watching the lady glance at it. She heaved another breath of anxiety as she heard the clicks of the keys tap away on the keyboard behind the counter. Looking at the smooth interior of the building that Shizuru worked in, Natsuki felt that what kind of person like of her current status would want what kind of business from here.

'Miss Kuga, please proceed to the 19th floor and wait in the waiting room.'

The receptionist gave a smile at Natsuki and gestured over to the lift lobby on the right,

'Miss Fujino is currently in a meeting. We will inform her of your arrival.'

Natsuki gave into a quick nod and a form of thank you and languidly walked towards the lift lobby. She was glad she chose to wear a little more decent and formal clothes to meet Shizuru, or else there would be a slight hesitation in the way she would be served. Isn't it so that the first impression counts? Upon the arrival on the 19th floor, Natsuki was graced with the presence of a familiar person that escaped her mind that very moment.

The woman spared her a glance as Natsuki moved pass to sit down on one of the waiting room seats. She realised there was barely a single soul here and she sat there patiently for her partner to show up. Seconds turned into minutes and soon Natsuki tried her very best to keep her eyes open.

'Miss, would you prefer coffee or tea?'

'Eh?'

Emerald looked up to find a man dressed finely with a tie and a jacket addressing her politely. His dark brown eyes stared listlessly at her and Natsuki managed to pick one of the options,

'Coffee, please?'

'As expected from Miss Fujino. She will join you shortly.'

Amazed by his response, Natsuki watched the man move away from her and down a corridor that seemingly led to nowhere and soon he reappeared carrying a tray with a cup of steaming coffee. Behind him, much to the delight of the midnight blue rider was her brown haired companion. Giving out a chirp of happiness, Natsuki was graced with the presence of the Kyoto beauty.

'You're coffee.'

She gave out a word of thanks as she watched the man walk away and down the same corridor that he and Shizuru appeared from. Emerald looked up to meet crimson that twinkled at her sight and moved over to gesture Shizuru to join her. Her nose picked up the scent of flowers mixed with tea first even though how strong the coffee was.

'I'm sorry; it seemed that some policies couldn't be agreed upon.'

'It's alright, I didn't wait that long.'

'Here, I think Natsuki would like to keep it.'

Natsuki looked over to find Shizuru handing her back her old business card, and she could only humbly accept it and put it back into her wallet. She couldn't hold back the question, not really wanting to ask about it again, but then, she was Kuga Natsuki,

'I thought you would have thrown it away by now.' She looked into the cup of black coffee, 'I was surprised you kept it for that long.'

Shizuru gave her partner an amused look and stifled a laugh with a raised hand over her mouth. Natsuki watched the hilarity spill into those crimson eyes and sooner than later, she watched Shizuru touch her arm like always and lean towards her. Shizuru spoke in wonder with her Kyoto accent,

'Why would I throw it away?' crimson eyes twinkled in amusement, 'It was the first thing I received from Natsuki after three years.'

'Ugh, don't bring it up,' Natsuki turned away slightly from those teasing eyes and stared hard at her coffee, 'it's embarrassing.'

She felt a smooth finger trace her cheek and Natsuki held her head in place as she took in the sweet voice that echoed into her ears,

'Embarrassing? I thought it was the sweetest way to reunite with Natsuki.'

'Don't start Shizuru!'

'Though how much I wanted Natsuki to rush forward and embrace me…'

Emerald eyes swivelled to the source of teasing and grinded her teeth hard, making Shizuru pull back slightly and let out a chuckle. Her brown haired companion reached down to touch her hands and it caught the midnight blue's attention. Natsuki looked up from her coffee to see a small faint blush of pink on Shizuru's cheeks and she least expected a finger to trace her lips.

It was lunch time, and Natsuki wasn't that ready to hear anything else than food,

'Instead you gave me something more than I ever wanted.'

Natsuki kissed the finger on her lips and grinned,

'Another lantern, Shizuru, for another time.'

* * *

Natsuki looked over her shoulder to find Shizuru walking through the kitchen door way and emerald eyes darted to the dish that her partner carried to the table.

'It does not contain leek right?'

Crimson eyes shone with laughter and Shizuru couldn't help but let out a tease,

'I rather use the leek for something more…' she touched her chin after putting the plate onto the table, 'practical.'

A grunt came out from Natsuki and Shizuru motioned to her partner get over to the table. After a few more trips to and fro from the kitchen, the two soon started on their quite and peaceful dinner. It was not long before Natsuki noted that her stocky soup had the thin and tiny green bits that she didn't particularly like, especially if Shizuru use it. Emerald eyes shot a look at crimson that stared back in confusion.

'There is leek!'

'It's spring onion Natsuki, not leek.' Shizuru looked over to the bowl of soup that Natsuki had forcibly shoved in front of her, 'As you would say, there is a difference there.'

Emerald eye narrowed at the coolness that her brown haired companion gave off and grabbed back her bowl of soup and lifted it up to her mouth mumbling and grumbling something incoherently. Shizuru could only smile innocently at her partner and continue eating.

Life was going smoothly.

Much after seven years.

* * *

**A/N:** The next will be from early summer to the end of summer. I hope you have enjoyed it.

**For the info:** Wagyu beef or also well known as Kobe beef; it's mighty delicious to say. At the Kiyozumi temple in Kyoto, there are two stones in the Jishu shrine that are called the love stones. If one can close their eyes and walk from one stone to the other, it's a sign that the person will find love. A person can also be assisted from one end to the other, and it is mostly done by the romantic interest of the former. I tried it once, to end up almost walking into the bushes, I would say that I am not destined to find anyone. Leek and spring onions are from the same family, just that leek is more sturdy, solid and have branches that usually come out at the top end, while spring onion is just one long and thin stalk. Both of them are used seperately to make different kinds of dishes.

*Just to note that the places stated are actually real places in Japan, if there are any incidences that have happened in real life, it is just a coincidence.

If there is anything left out, feel free to pop a message.

Then again,

Cheers!


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